Authentic leadership and innovative work behavior through organizational culture: A study in Indonesian state-owned enterprises

Abstract

Background: Innovation is one of the keys for organizations to win the competition and be able to survive. State-owned enterprises require employees to face the competition by showing innovative work behavior where leadership factors and organizational culture could influence this behavior. This study examines the role of authentic leadership in innovative work behavior through organizational culture as a mediator. Methods: Participants in this survey study were 272 employees of Indonesian state-owned enterprises, but only 153 employees from 17 work teams were involved in data analysis at the group level. The research instrument was adapted from the innovative work behavior scale, authentic leadership questionnaire, and the Indonesian state-owned enterprises culture scale, which consists of six core values: trustworthy, competent, harmonious, loyal, adaptive, and collaborative. Data collection in this study was carried out by distributing questionnaires in the form of a Likert scale online via a google form. The data were analyzed using partial-least square analysis. Results: The results showed that organizational culture mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and innovative work behavior. Conclusions: The group experience of the presence of an authentic leader can improve the implementation of organizational culture, which in turn may increase innovative work behavior at the group level.